Planning board and CRA back Meisner Plaza hotel; sale of small city parcel approved amid resident opposition

The Planning & Zoning Board and the Community Redevelopment Agency advisory review on Aug. 21 recommended approval of a proposed Meisner Plaza Hotel and the conditional sale of a small city‑owned parcel at 190 NE Second Street to the project developer. The two related votes were contentious and followed extensive public comment from nearby residents and the condominium Tower 155, which opposed the sale and the development.

City staff described the project as a 12‑story, 271,412‑square‑foot hotel with 242 rooms and about 34,840 square feet of retail/restaurant space on a 1.93‑acre site that includes a 0.29‑acre city parcel. The application asks for design flexibility under the interim design guidelines and a technical deviation from the DDRI development order to reduce off‑street parking requirements from 569 spaces to 372 (a reduction of 197). Staff said the development order and downtown plan support mixed retail and public uses; staff recommended approval with conditions.

The applicant, represented by Ellie Zacharaitis and Arman Batmazian, said the project brings two levels of active retail, pedestrian improvements including a protected five‑foot bicycle lane and expanded sidewalks, underground parking beneath a proposed pocket park and a public plaza. The applicant proposed credits against the purchase price in exchange for construction and perpetual maintenance of the park and replacement public parking spaces in the garage.

Opponents — led by Tower 155 representatives including attorney Richard DeWitt and planner Jeff Costello — argued the proposal and the sale notice were defective, asked for more time to study the legal and procedural issues, and warned of traffic, parking and construction impacts. Tower 155’s counsel highlighted two appraisals performed for the city: an October 2024 appraisal valuing the parcel at $3,270,000 and a revised appraisal of $2,370,000 dated May 2025 after the appraiser removed an area of right‑of‑way from the valuation. Neighbors raised safety and quality‑of‑life concerns about alley loading, deliveries, noise, and the scale and proximity of tall towers.

Staff said the sale is governed by Chapter 13, Article 3 of the city code (Sale of City Property) and required a current third‑party appraisal and a 10% deposit prior to council introduction; staff reported the city had received the revised appraisal and described proposed sale terms that included a letter of credit of just over $2,000,000, a net cash payment and perpetual maintenance obligations tied to partial credits against the purchase price.

After deliberation, the CRA/IDA motion to approve the individual development approval passed 5–1 and the ordinance authorizing the conditional conveyance of the city parcel passed by the same 5–1 vote. The board and staff said they will correct a scrivener’s error in the public notice prior to the City Council hearing and noted remaining contract language and timing issues to be reconciled before final conveyance; staff said a four‑year deadline for satisfaction of sale conditions is included in the ordinance, and the purchase would not be conveyed until conditions are satisfied and required public improvements are accepted.